Freshman Graham leads Northern Illinois past Buffalo, 41-30

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Freshman Ryan Graham had 268 total yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, and Northern Illinois beat Buffalo 41-30 on Wednesday

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Freshman Ryan Graham had 268 total yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, and Northern Illinois beat Buffalo 41-30 on Wednesday night for the Huskies' fifth straight victory.

Down 28-3, Buffalo pulled to 31-23 in the fourth quarter on Cameron Lewis' 68-yard interception return. Two plays later, Graham found a wide open Kenny Golladay for a 68-yard score.

Christian Hagan's 47-yard field goal with 2:50 remaining sealed it.

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Graham was 15-of-24 passing for 190 yards and had 18 carries for 78 yards for Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 Mid-American). Last week, Graham led two fourth-quarter scoring drives to help Northern Illinois rally past then-No. 20 Toledo after starter Drew Hare suffered a leg injury.

Golladay had six catches for 141 yards and two scores for the Huskies, and Joel Bouagnon ran for a career-high 156 yards and had two touchdowns.

Joe Licata threw for 354 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for Buffalo (5-5, 3-3).